Ceres: Finding the Wolf
by t.j.guard
Summary: "It all started when Alex Pacer was called down to the office." And it all ended with the finding of the wolf in sheep's clothing. Fourth in the Ceres series
1. Chapter 1

Ceres: Finding the Wolf

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.  
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Chapter One

It all started when Alex Pacer was called down to the office.

Up until that very moment, Lexie considered the first few weeks of her senior year to be going fairly well, but the second she heard a secretary say, "Will Alexander Pacer come down to the office, please?" over the intercom, she felt her gas tank clench. She tailed Alex to the office and hung by the open door as he talked in barely audible tones to a light brown Hugo. It seemed that those who worked in the office had recently cleared out for the time being. "Your boss called," Alex said. "He wants to know where you get off moving in on Tubbs' turf, especially since they're on good terms."

"He's holed up in Porto Corsa," the Hugo replied. "He don't care."

"He obviously does, if he's calling about you. Now, you know I'm here on behalf of your don, not mine, and you know I don't want my don involved, so my recommendation to you is that you quit while you're ahead."

"I hardly think I'm ahead, Pacer," the Hugo said with a small, dry laugh. Lexie bit her bumper to minimize the temptation of giving any sign that she was watching them. "Let me have a couple more months. Get Hugo to take the heat off so I can work, and convince him that this will benefit him."

"How?"

"I don't care. Say it's a crucial link to the black market parts trade or something."

"Don Victor had that with Shorts."

"And that tuner's out of the picture. They'll need another way in."

"If you're not selling this to me, how do you expect me to sell it to your don?"

"Just do me this favor. I need the heat taken off so I can stay here and keep working."

"On what, may I ask?"

"You'll have to trust me on this. It's good for everyone involved."

"Who does that constitute?"

"I said, you'll have to trust me."

"Sorry, but I don't." Alex drove out of the small, otherwise empty office, and Lexie slipped deeper out of sight. When he was gone, she peered into the office, and she locked eyes with a silver Sedan rather than the light brown Hugo that had been in the room several seconds prior.

She turned and drove out of the lobby.

CARS

Lexie parked next to her small, two-door orange and black Mustang cousin Marliese Carerra. "So, word around the street is you've got a flame goin' on," Marly said slyly, giving Lexie a playful shove. More slowly, she asked, "What's his name?"

"Why would I tell you?" Lexie replied. "You're just gonna spread it all over school."

"Seriously. Who is it?"

"Marly, I'm serious. I don't want everyone to know that Alex and I are hanging out. It only took me eleven years to know that Pacers keep to themselves in school. Alex would look weird if everyone knew he was friends with me."

"Ah, a social martyr, I see."

"I'm not a social martyr. I just don't want to talk about my love life, no matter how it works out."

"You can tell me, and I won't tell another living soul."

Lexie bit her lip. "I'm not so sure, Marly."

There was a knock at the door, and Lexie's aunt Taylor Carerra called, "Who wants to see the pre-Grand Prix highlights?"

The two girls drove out of Marly's bedroom and down the ramp to the living room. Marly parked next to her mother, an orange sportscar with detailed hibiscus flowers in various bright colors painted along her rear side panels, and at the sound of a knock on the front door, Lexie said, "I'll get it." She drove to the front door and opened it...to the silver Sedan she'd seen in the office earlier that day. He gave her the same icy stare he gave her when he locked eyes with her, and then he drove past her and into the room. "Who the hell is this car?"

The Sedan turned to face her and gave her a once-over, but he didn't say anything. "Oh, this is Steven," Taylor said. Steven kissed her on the bumper, and Lexie raised an eyelid and looked over at Marly, who seemed to think nothing of it.

"Okay," Lexie said to herself as she drove into the living room. Taylor and Steven parked next to each other, and Marly occupied Taylor's other side. Lexie hung on the end, some feet away, and struggled to control her sudden nausea.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Alex remained by the door as most of the Pacers gathered in Tubbs' bar to watch the official start of Prix Week. Tubbs himself hadn't joined the crowd, so Alex turned and drove across the foyer to a room in the back. He knocked gently on the door, and Tubbs asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Alex replied, slipping into the office.

"What's up? Heard you took a call today."

"From Don Victor. Apparently his underboss is acting way out of line in LA and closing in on your turf."

"Yeah, I know. I told him."

"You're the reason I got that call from Don Victor?"

"Yeah. I smelled something fishy with him, so I decided I'd do a little digging."

"Through me."

"Sending a messenger is standard practice."

"So exactly what were you hoping to gain?"

"Exactly what I just did. I got Don Victor interested in what's going down in LA, so he's gonna investigate his own underboss."

"Oookay."

"Look, I made it expressly clear to him that unless anything changed, you were just to deliver the message that he knew what you were up to, no more. Don Victor will have to find someone else."

"I'd ask if it would benefit him to have Saybrooke know that he's being watched closely, but Saybrooke himself was pretty callous about it. He thinks he can make a buck off your turf, or maybe the tuners' turf, and we both know we don't need a mob war or trouble with the tuners, especially considering the Professor and Shorts' alliance."

"Yeah. This whole thing with McMissile, Shorts, and the Professor is the huge wildcard in all this, but I'm pretty sure of one thing: Nobody's gonna want a war, no matter who's doing the fighting." Alex bit his bumper and nodded a little reluctantly. "Okay, are we good with that?" Alex nodded again. "Good. Now, let's enjoy Prix Week like every other car on the face of the earth."

CARS

Boost, Wingo, DJ, and Snot Rod drove into the Wheel Well to find everyone left in town gathered around the television and immersed in the intro to Prix Week. Boost rolled his eyes and said, "The madness rolls on."

"Seriously, dude. You gotta lighten up and have a little fun," Wingo said, and he drove past Boost to the bar, which Guido was tending. Two minutes later, he came back with a couple drinks and tried to hand one to Boost.

"I'm just not one for the preamble shit, okay?"

"Just have a drink."

"Okay, but I'll be outside."

Boost took the drink to a table in the parking lot overlooking the Interstate and some of the natural desert formations. After a moment, he heard the sound of slow tires crunching on the thin dirt layer covering the pavement, and he glanced in his mirror at the black and gold Mitsubishi he had been certain for almost twenty years he would never see again. His eyes narrowed, and he hissed, "Whadda you want?"

"I'm just out here for a little peace and quiet," Shorts replied.

"What're you doing here in the first place?"

"In Radiator Springs? Trying to adjust to life without Montgomery constatly dangling over our hoods. If I went back to LA, they'd hang me high."

"I can see why."

"Okay, look. I'm not expecting you to like me very much, and in all honesty, I'm surprised you're this civil. I'm just here so I can find my way without my baggage hanging over me all the time, and in case something comes up where Finn or Shotgun Willie need to talk to me. That's all there is to it."

"Good."

Shorts nodded curtly and backed up. With one last look over the valley, he drove off. Boost took a sip from his drink.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

As Lexie drove into school, debate about who would win the Grand Prix was well under way. Marly had gone off to join her friends and gush over Francesco's open wheels, a thought which caused Lexie to roll her eyes, and she met Alex's gaze across the commons. He drove over to her and asked, "Still think you're dad's gonna win?"

"Of course I do," she replied.

"I guess the real question is who you think's gonna come in second."

"Francesco Bernoulli, of course, considering the rivalry." Alex nodded, and Lexie looked around, lowered her voice, and asked, "Alex, do you know anyone named Steven? I don't know the last name."

"What's he look like?"

"Depends on who you ask."

"Excuse me?" In as vague terms as possible, she described the last few second of what she had witnessed. "What were you doing there in the first place?"

"I felt like something was wrong, so I went to check it out. Give me a good reason not to do what I did."

Alex bit his bumper, and then he said, "Lexie, listen to me. I'll be nice and not tell anyone you've been following me around lately, but if word leaked, some very bad cars would want you dead."

"Cars have been wanting me dead for several months now. What's different about this?"

"I might not be able to get you out of it."

"What if I don't need you to?"

"I'm serious, Lexie. The Families are more entrenched and ruthless than a crazed spy car chief and his cronies, and their influence is felt nearly everywhere, except most of Route Sixty-Six."

"So?"

"Lexie, I don't want to see you sleeping with the fishes."

"You'd figure an advanced superweapon would be able to defend herself. I won't always need your protection, and I've done pretty well without you, so your threats are useless to me."

Alex sighed and shook his hood, his eyes closing. "If you're absolutely sure, and judging by your tone, you are, then I'm not one to stop you."

"Good."

Alex rolled back slightly. "Okay, Lexie, I know a Steven Saybrooke, but in all my experience, he's been a Hugo, not the Sedan that you describe, but that detail adds a little something to the story that wasn't there before. Saybrooke's moving in on Pacer and Tuner turf, and he's on the verge of starting a war the way he's goin'. This is a powder keg, and no one knows why he's ready to light the fuse, but maybe this silver Sedan business is a clue."

"As to what?"

"You said the personal agents that worked for Montgomery were silver or black sportscars, yes?"

"Yeah."

"So maybe our Steven Saybrooke warrants a little more investigation. You take the legit route, I'll check around in the underworld, and we'll report back when we find something. Sound good?"

"Yeah, it does, but I sure as hell hope you don't get killed. You're a lot squishier than I am, and you stand a better chance of being killed than I do."

"I know, but I know my way around."

"Don't get too cocky. It'll get you in trouble."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, we have our plan. Let's go to class."

"Good idea, and remember, keep a low profile."

"I'll do my best."

The two cars nodded and drove out of opposite ends of the commons. Lexie parked next to Marly for the nearly two hours of math that were in store for them that day. She passed a note to her cousin asking to meet at lunch, and after recieving an affirmative response, she settled in.

CARS

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Marly asked when she met Lexie in a particularly deserted area of the commons.

"Steven, your mom's new flame," Lexie replied. "Tell me everything you know about him."

"Well, he started seeing Mom in the middle of the summer, said he was some office-bound pencil-pusher, but I caught him on the phone once with some Italian, and he made me swear not to talk about it to anyone unless it was Alex Pacer or his girlfriend."

"What Italian?"

"Said his name was Alex Hugo. Sound familiar?"

"I met Victor Hugo, but I don't know Alex Hugo. Sounds like they're close, though, professionally speaking."

"Where'd you meet him?"

"At the Grand Prix party a few months ago, when the skylight was destroyed and it all went to hell. The others were there, too."

"How bad was it?"

"Considering the fact that Montgomery was involved, pretty bad." Marly nodded, and Lexie asked, "Any other weird things I should know about?"

"Several times I saw him drive into a bathroom and watched a light brown Hugo leave that same room."

Lexie's mind flashed to the meeting she had witnessed the previous day. "I think I saw the opposite." She layed out the tail end of the meeting the same way she did with Alex.

"So you and Alex are checking it out?"

"Yeah. He's apparently connected to the underworld, which doesn't surprise me much. He introduced me to the heads of the Four Families, so it's a reasonable guess that he's incredibly well-connected."

"Here's a tip," Marly said. "Be careful what you say. Nine times out of ten, you'll get someone arrested."

"Or a car will drive free. I'm better off picking my own battles."

Marly shrugged. "Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me if you end up dead."

"How would I do that?"

"Believe me. I've heard enough credible ghost stories to know they exist."

"The ghosts or the stories?"

"The ghosts."

"Okay, Marly, a little on the weird side there."

Marly shrugged and drove off. Lexie scanned the commons, but nothing seemed to indicate that her conversation with Marly had been overheard. Then she drove slowly through the halls, seeming to lack any sense of direction and her mind going over everything Marly had told her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Alex watched as a bright green Pacer drove up the dirt road in the forest section of the public park, and whispered, "Good call," when he was in earshot.

"Thanks," the Pacer replied. "Take it you called about Saybrooke."

"You're the lawyer for the family, so you've got the access I need."

"You want me to go digging."

"Yes, I want you to go digging."

"How much time do I have."

"Well, even though we're in the prepped and ready powder keg of a two-front war, I don't think anyone's dumb enough to start it right away. I could be vastly overestimating somebody, though, so I'll tell you to get it done in a reasonable time frame, say a few weeks or months."

"Okay, I can do that."

Alex shook tires with the Pacer and said, "Good luck, Jack."

"Thanks, Alex."

The two cars nodded to each other, and then they drove down the path to the exit of the park, where they parted ways for the time being.

CARS

Saybrooke stopped by the house that evening for the first Grand Prix event, and for some reason, Lexie was incensed. She idled in the doorway to the ground floor hall, fuming silently and barely focusing on the race. Her gaze was fixed on Saybrooke and the way he and Taylor nuzzled each other and cuddled up close, commenting on various aspects of the race.

Then she turned and drove up the ramp into the bedroom she shared with her cousin. She remembered that Finn had told her she had a communication system in her, and that gave her an idea. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in order to center herself. While she wasn't sure how to do it, she somehow got Alex to say in her ear, "Hello?"

"Figured out the internal phone thing," she replied.

"Cool. So, how're you?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Doing well. Thanks."

"It's too early to know anything for sure, but I had the oddest impression today. I know I just met Saybrooke yesterday, but I felt today like he's an invader in my life. The Grand Prix is a real family thing, not just McQueens and Carerras, but Radiator Springs in general, and he's a foreigner of some form."

"That happens to a lot of cars when strangers get involved with their loved ones."

"But remember, there's more to Saybrooke than he's letting on to anyone." Lexie told him as concisely as possible what Marly had told her in the commons at the high school earlier that day.

"Which sheds a little light on what you saw yesterday."

"You have anybody running a background check on him?"

"Family lawyer, Jack J. Pacer."

"That's good, right?"

"You better believe it."

"Okay, so that part's rolling. What I wanna know is if I have grounds to get him the hell out of this house."

"Aren't you a guest, too?"

"Yes, but this is my aunt and cousin. Saybrooke's a stranger."

"So you see him as a threat more than anything else."

"Yes, that's exactly it."

"Yeah, okay. Saybrooke is a threat to you, so I'll take care of it."

"How come I feel like that involves a death threat?"

"Because it probably does."

Lexie sighed. "Look," she said. "I don't want to end up in the middle of a mob war, and I don't want to find myself permanently entrenched in this world that you grew up in. We need more information before you move in for any reason, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay, that's agreed upon. Now, how about that calculus lesson this morning?"

"Oh, Dodge, that was hell."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Jack studied the electronic archives, searching for promising leads for Alex and his girlfriend to pursue. He took another sip of coffee from the can next to his computer, his eyes glued to the screen as if waiting for something useful to magically appear. He scrolled up to the top of the page and altered his query slightly, adding the word 'Hugo' to the search box and then checking out the resulting list. He found nothing, so he turned away, closed his eyes, and let out a breath. For fear of falling asleep, he took another sip of coffee and returned to the screen. "What haven't I checked yet?" he asked himself. "What piece of the puzzle am I missing?" Someone knocked on his office door, and he asked, "Yeah?"

"You still up, Jackie?" Tubbs replied from the other side of the door.

"Yeah."

"Look, it's three in the morning. Whatever work you're doing right now can most likely wait till tomorrow."

"You're probably right, Boss."

"I'm probably right? I know I'm right. Okay look. You get to bed, and we'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Jack switched off the computer and drove out of his office. Tubbs nodded to him, and he drove down a corridor to a guest room in the back of the complex.

Tubbs watched him go and then whispered to himself, "What kind of work was he doing so late, anyway?"

CARS

At around noon, Tubbs caught Jack on his way back to the office. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," Jack replied.

"What's your job right now?"

"Alex wants me to dig into Saybrooke's past."

"Oh, right."

"It's really just an issue of finding something on this car. I can't even find a public driving record."

Tubbs laughe dryly. "Everybody has a public driving record. Even _I_ have a public driving record. _Don Victor_ has a public driving record. How the hell can he not have a public driving record?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Jack said.

"Either way, it's a huge red flag, and we have a huge problem. I'll talk to Don Victor, you just rest up from your long night, talk to Alex if you have to, but don't try anything just yet."

"Yes, sir."

Tubbs and Jack nodded to each other and then disappeared into the office and the guest room, respectively.

CARS

"What can I do for you, Pacer?" Alex Hugo asked when he answered the phone just outside Victor's office.

"There's something I need to talk to your boss about," Tubbs replied.

"Yeah, okay, one sec." Hugo knocked on the open office door and said, "Pacer on line two." Victor nodded and pressed a button. Then he gestured for the other Hugos in the room to leave and close the door behind them.

"I take it this is important," Victor said, "as you're calling me on my private line."

"Much as I'd like to be able to call and say hi, something's come up," Tubbs replied. "This Saybrooke fella doesn't have a public driving record that we can find."

Victor raised an eyelid. "What?"

"We can't find Saybrooke's public driving record."

"He has to have a public driving record. I have a public driving record. The _Popemobile_ has a public driving record."

"That's the problem." Tubbs sighed. "Look, Alex asked Jack to dig, which means Lexie asked Alex to, which means Steven Saybrooke is somehow involved in her life, which makes this a hell of a lot more complicated than it should be."

"Go on. Or is that all?"

"That's about it that I know right now."

"Ah." Victor hung up and called, "Alexander?"

"Yes, sir?" the black Hugo replied.

"I want young Pacer on the phone immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Within seconds, Alex's voice drifted through the speaker. "Yes, Don Victor?"

"Is it true that you asked your family's lawyer to investigate my underboss?"

"Yes."

"Is it also true that your friend Alexa asked you to do this?"

"Yes." A note of fear slipped into Alex's voice.

"What is her relation to Saybrooke?"

"I can't be sure, but she thinks of him as an invader. I think he's involved with her aunt and cousin."

"Ah."

"Jackie told me about the lack of records, and I think you should know. Saybrooke the Hugo might not have a public driving record, but possibly Saybrooke the Sedan will."

"Are they the same car?"

"That's the theory." Alex paused, as if wondering how to phrase his next sentence. "Don Victor, I think someone's been trying to pull the wool over your eyes."

"Oh, do you?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Pacer, I understand that you are close to this matter, so I will allow you to remain close to it, under one condition. I expect to be informed of every development you make regarding your investigation of Saybrooke."

"Okay."

"That is all."

"If anything happens, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you."

Victor hung up and rolled around his desk, struggling to ignore his grinding axles, and nodded to Alex Hugo once he reached the door. "Yes, sir?" the Hugo replied.

"I want a full background check done on Steven Saybrooke. Check both Hugo and Sedan, and report back to me once you are done," Victor replied.

"Yes, sir." Hugo nodded and rushed off down a hallway.

**Mere - I purposefully keep certain aspects of my stories enigmatic because I don't like to treat my readers as if they're idiots. I did try to add more detail in this chapter, especially to the dialogue to clarify who was speaking. I hope it helps, and I will keep your words in mind as I edit future chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Lexie drove into the kitchen and scanned the fridge when she spotted a movement in her rearview mirror. She turned slowly to spot the silver Sedan that had posed such an enigma to her over the past couple of days. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I know what you started," he hissed. "I know you got cars to poke around in my life. What I want to know is how much you're paying them to do it."

"I'm not paying anyone anything."

"Liar," he growled.

"You can check me all you want. I'm not paying anybody."

"So you got a boyfriend to do it."

"For the record, I'm single."

"Bribe somebody to be your boyfriend? Or are you a lesbian?"

"My love life and sexual orientation are none of your business, so you'll have better luck staying the hell out of it. And I can't believe it took me two of your visits to figure out that I hate your parts. I'm losing my touch."

Saybrooke scoffed. "What touch?"

"My talent for picking bastards out of a crowd."

"Oh, you little..." He lunged toward her, and she dodged to the right, toward the door. He turned toward her and moved to rush her again, and she almost instinctively slipped a gun out of her hubcap and aimed it at him, cocking it. Surprise flashed in his eyes for a moment, but it was soon replaced by anger. Even so, he backed off, and she drove out of the house.

CARS

The sun was barely peeking above the horizon, so Lexie decided to stop by the nearest motor speedway and slip inside. She settled in just behind the starting line and took a deep breath, and then she started off, her tires squealing against the pavement for a moment and her speed approaching and then exceeding four hundred miles per hour. The sound of her engine became a background hum as she moved around the track.

Roughly two dozen laps later, she slowed to a more reasonable sixty-five for a few laps and then drove out of the speedway proper as quietly as she drove in. She turned left, and then she drove into the school several minutes later. Alex Pacer settled in next to her and said, "He doesn't have a public driving record as a Hugo."

"What about as a Sedan?" she replied.

"I've got people checking that out right now."

"And if we don't find anything there, either?"

"Then we'll have to talk to the Professor and his spy friend."

"Which will likely imply a tie to Montgomery."

"Likely."

"Okay, what's going on?"

Alex licked his bumper. "I've been thinking that we haven't been together very much outside of business."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Maybe."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Uh, well...maybe." He looked away as if feigning shame. "I mean, if you're not busy or anything, maybe we could hang out sometime, and not have to worry about business or anything like that."

"Possibly."

"Possibly yes or possibly no?"

"Possibly yes. I think I like you, Alex, but I'm not really sure about this mob thing you have going on."

Alex looked at her, his eyelid raised for a moment before his face relaxed. "I know, you want a straight life, but sometimes cars try to pull out and go straight and they wind up dead the next day or week or month or year."

"So you want me to be your moll for the rest of my life?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just don't want you dead."

"You think I'm going to die. You think it's that easy to kill me." She didn't even try to hide her incredulousness.

"I don't, personally, but I know others who do, who don't fully understand what they're getting into carrying out a hit on you, and who think it will be a piece of cake."

"Well, they've got another thing coming."

"And you might, too, considering some of the enforcers I've met over the years." Alex looked around at some of the other cars. "Well, I better shut up now. Who knows who's gonna say what to who."

"Yeah, I get it."

Alex nodded, and they parked in the commons. Fifteen minutes to class. Marly and a couple of her friends were watching them closely. "I think she wants us to start making out," Alex said.

"Not yet," Lexie replied.

"Yeah, good idea."

"Well, I'll see you during lunch."

Alex nodded, and Lexie drove over to her cousin and her friends. Marly met her half-way across the commons, and Lexie said, "Saybrooke knows we're digging."

"He's a dangerous car."

"That's exactly what I want to know about."

"Good luck," Marly said with a sneer.

"Thanks," Lexie said dryly.

Marly nodded gravely and drove into Trig. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Jack picked up the phone on the first ring. "Yep?"

"I'm looking for a Jack Pacer?" the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Speaking."

"Alex Hugo. The boss wants me to investigate this Saybrooke thing, too, so I figured we may as well work together."

"Is it okay with Don Victor?"

"I've gotta run it by him first, but I'll get back to you."

"Okay, then. I'll be waiting."

"Great."

Hugo hung up, and Jack rolled back and raised an eyelid. He turned and drove out of the office, down the hall and straight to Tubbs' door. He knocked, and the boss told him to come in. "What've you got?" Tubbs asked.

"Don Victor's got somebody on the case, too," Jack replied. "This car thinks it might be a good idea for us to work together."

"Which car?"

"Alex Hugo."

Tubbs nodded. "Let him run it by his don first and then we'll go from there."

"You read my mind."

CARS

Much to Lexie's relief, almost joy, Saybrooke hadn't stopped by that day. Taylor seemed a little worried, however, and tried multiple times to call him. Marly hung out in her room.

Lexie drove into the living room and turned on the television to watch the news.

She turned when she heard the sound of Marly's tires on the carpet about an hour later, and she turned off the television. "What's up?" she asked.

"I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing, Lexie," Marly replied. "This isn't Radiator Springs. There are truly dangerous cars here. You could be made to disappear, never to be seen or heard of again."

Lexie shrugged. "I'm trying to be a realist here, but I'm not afraid of a few Pacers. My best friend is one."

"That's not enough to save you."

"It doesn't need to be." Lexie thought about telling Marly about Montgomery's words on the cliff that night, but she decided against it. "Like I said, I'd rather pick my own battles."

"Lexie, Marly, have any of you seen or heard from Steven?" Taylor asked, driving into the living room from the direction of the kitchen. The cousins looked at each other, and both shook their hoods. She nodded and drove out of the living room. Lexie turned her gaze back to the television.

CARS

Alex, Jack, and Tubbs met Alex Hugo as he drove into the Pacers' foyer. "He sent me personally," Hugo said. Tubbs rolled back and to the side, gesturing for Hugo to enter his office. Tubbs turned and nodded to Jack and Alex Pacer, who followed him into the office. "On the way I tried to find records of a Sedan named Steven Saybrooke, and I got nothing."

"Nothing for a Hugo, nothing for a Sedan," Tubbs said. "Anything else?"

"Nope, not a single thing."

"Anywhere?"

"Nope."

Tubbs looked at Alex Pacer and Jack, both of whom remained perfectly silent. Then he looked back at Hugo. "When you go back, tell Don Victor I'd like to talk to him."

"Got it."

"Good. Now I wanna talk to my relatives alone." Hugo nodded and drove out of the office, careful to close the door behind him.

"What do we tell Lexie's aunt and cousin?" Pacer asked.

"Nothing yet," Tubbs replied. "Jack, you comb the security footage in this city, or ask around, whatever you gotta do to see where he goes on a daily basis. Alex, I want you to get Lexie's take on all this."

Both cars nodded, and at Tubbs' signal, they left the office.

CARS

Marly and Taylor went out, leaving Lexie alone in the house, which she left perfectly silent. At least, until someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" she called.

"It's me, Alex," the car on the other side of the door replied.

"It's open." Alex drove through the front door and into the living room, where she was parked on the carpet. "What's up?"

"They checked out Saybrooke the Sedan, and apparently he doesn't have a driving record as either model."

"You mean Saybrooke is completely off the record?"

"Yeah, he is. They wanna know what you think."

"Okay, look, I'll talk to Finn, get his take on it. As for what I think, I think this is a huge red flag, and the Montgomery angle should be investigated."

"'Kay."

Lexie bit her bumper for a moment, and then she said, "With luck, we can fix all this without violence."

"Hopefully." Alex cracked a lopsided smile, but his eyes were expressionless.

"What's up?"

The smile faded. "It's just that it seems violence is inevitable. That's all."

"That's part of your world, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

Lexie nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Finn, and I'll tell you what he says."

"Okay."

"And Alex, I think I will go out with you sometime."

"Cool. Really cool."

"Now really, go for a drive or something, before you work yourself to death."

"Yeah, literally. Well, you let me know, and then I'll tell them."

"Right."

He nodded to her, and then he drove out the front door.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Finn had just settled into Siddeley's cabin and prepared for takeoff when he heard his phone ringing. "A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator," he said.

"No shit, Sherlock. It's air-cooled," the voice on the other end of the line replied.

"Ah, Alexa. It's nice to hear from you, and I see you figured out how your phone works."

"Started to."

"So, what have you been up to?"

"I've got a situation for you and I want your take on it."

"Go on."

"My aunt Taylor Carerra's seeing this car Steven Saybrooke. Firstly, we're confused on what model is, because Alex always knew him as a Hugo, but I met him as a Sedan. Second, he doesn't have a public driving record."

"What?"

"He doesn't have a public driving record, as either of the two known models."

"Well, that is something. What do you make of it?"

"Montgomery."

"The second coming?"

"Dodge, I hope not."

"But you fear so."

"Yeah, I do," Lexie said softly.

"If he is in any way connected to Montgomery, whatever you do, do not engage him directly. He will want you dead, or brainwashed, and we cannot underestimate the fact that he may be just as ruthless as our old foe." Finn surprised himself with the notes of firmness in his voice.

"I think I'll have to. This is my aunt and cousin we're talking about, and I've been talking with Alex about this for some time."

"Then I guess my advice is moot."

"Got anything else?"

"Well, I suppose I should say keep doing what you're doing. It seems to be working for you so far. However, I will caution you to be careful. There's a lot going on here that you shouldn't be involved in."

"I figured that going in."

"Good, because it can only get worse."

"Of course. We're dealing with, if we're right, the underboss of the Hugo crime family, the car right under Victor Hugo himself. And on top of that, he could very well be in some equivalent position under the late Montgomery."

"Obviously this Steven Saybrooke character is very well connected."

"Which means going through the legal channels will be a problem."

"Exactly."

"So what do we do?"

Finn rolled back about a centimeter and chewed on his bumper for a moment. Then he said, "You wait there. If anything happens, drive to Axle's garage, and then contact me. I'll get in touch with a few others and alert them to the situation, and then we'll talk strategy."

He hung up and settled onto his chassis with a heavy sigh. Alexa was most likely annoyed by his abrupt end to the conversation, but he needed some quiet time to think about the matter.

"Finn, is everything alright?" Siddeley asked over the intercom. When Finn didn't answer, the plane asked, "Finn, what happened?"

"There's been an incident in Los Angeles, involving Alexa and some relatives of hers," Finn replied.

"A short incident or a longer one?"

"A longer one."

"A records issue, then."

"Yes."

"So, sir, what do you need to do?"

"Continue with the plan. I want to talk to Holley about this in person, and then I'll let you know if I have another plan."

"Alrighty, will do."

"Thanks, Siddeley."

"Of course."

Siddeley signed off, and Finn sank onto his axles with a sigh.

CARS

Holley and some of the remaining residents were chatting idly at the V8 Cafe, occasionally engaging the trickle of tourists that flowed through the town. She spotted Finn just past the town limits and rolled closer to him, and they separated themselves from the others. "What's up?" she asked in a low voice.

"Something's come up in Los Angeles," he replied.

"What sort of something?"

"We've found a car that doesn't have a public driving record, and we have reason to suspect a possible tie to Montgomery based on that."

"Oh, dear."

"If you can run a check on this Steven Saybrooke, that would be great."

"Steven Saybrooke? Isn't that a soap opera character?"

"What?"

"When I have a few days off, I catch my stories at two. One of the characters is named Steven Saybrooke. I'm pretty certain of it."

Finn blinked a couple of times, and in spite of his weariness, he looked alert for all intents and purposes. "So, if this Saybrooke character in fact doesn't exist, you think the car behind it got the name from a soap opera?"

"So far as I can judge, yes. If not from the soap opera, definitely from the internet."

"Then this could be nearly anyone."

"If you suspect a tie to Montgomery, then our pool of suspects becomes much smaller."

Finn nodded. "True."

"But we need to investigate the angle more thoroughly. Finn, you rest, I'll check the records, alright?"

"Mm, alright." Finn nodded, his eyes closed, and he drove off toward the Cozy Cone. Holley watched him for a moment and then returned to the V8 Cafe.

"Everything okay?" Sally asked.

"As well as can be expected for our line of work," she replied.

CARS

At around ten-o'-clock that night, Lexie's internal phone rang, which startled her from sleep and led to a few moments of freaking out before she figured out how to answer. "Yeah?" she asked. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Holley Shiftwell," the voice replied. Lexie relaxed.

"Okay, so what's up?"

"We have a problem. I ran a double-check on Steven Saybrooke and haven't found anything except that he's a soap opera character."

"So, he shouldn't be real, right?"

"Exactly, and he's not. I've found something in the CHROME records to indicate that at about the time this Steven Saybrooke appeared in our lives, Alan deCarteran disappeared."

"de-Who?"

"deCarteran, an agent of Montgomery's and, as we understand, his right tire."

"Which means he's picking up the slack after Montgomery's death," Lexie said.

"Right. Of course, we can't be sure the two incidents are related. We'll have to do some more digging and let each other know what we find. That may be evidence for or against the deCarteran theory."

"Or it might be completely worthless."

"Yes, but it's worth a shot, as Curby Gremlin would say." Lexie swallowed, nodded, and let out a quick, "Yeah." "Good luck," Holley said, and she hung up.

Lexie settled onto her chassis, her gas tank suddenly full of butterflies and her mind more alert than exhausted. Then she called Alex.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Alex, it's three in the morning. What the hell is going on?" Tubbs asked as he rolled into the office, where Alex and Jack waited.

"We've got a problem," Alex said.

"What sort of problem?"

"A potential direct link to the late Daniel Montgomery," Jack said. "A link in the form of an Alan deCarteran."

"Who?"

"Montgomery's right tire and the logical choice for his replacement and the continuation of his work, which Alex here guesses has something to do with his engine and Lexie in general."

Tubbs looked at Alex, who nodded in agreement. "Who else knows?" he asked.

"Lexie, Holley Shiftwell, and whoever told Holley Shiftwell, and, of course, Saybrooke himself. And us," Alex said.

"And how much does Don Victor knows about his underboss?" Tubbs asked. Alex and Jack looked at each other, and Tubbs drove past them to his phone. He dialled a number and said, "Yeah, I know it's three in the morning...Look, I wanna talk to Don Victor...It's Pacer...Yeah...Okay, call me...Kay." He hung up and turned toward them. "You guys must be tired. I'll let you rest, and I've got to put something together for later." Alex and Jack nodded, and they drove out of the office.

CARS

Lexie drove down to the kitchen for a drink and then mulled over her options in the silent house. Her best bet was to figure out where Saybrooke lived and worked in order to see what clues she could find there, but considering he didn't have a public driving record, that would be tricky. Then she remembered something from the previous night. Alan deCarteran could've been both versions of Steven Saybrooke. She could've tried to find this deCarteran car and maybe that would've solved the mystery and ended all this madness. If she knew where to look.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to have a records check run on deCarteran, though based on what Holley told her, it seemed that most of what she would find would be classified. Maybe even the public driving record. Of course, that was if she was extremely unlucky.

An unusual thought occurred to her. Didn't Finn say she had an onboard computer? What was she doing asking the Pacers to do her dirty work?

Lexie took a sip from the gas can and rolled back a couple inches, taking a few deep breaths and thinking back on the moments when she learned to control various aspects of her Ceres self. Find me records on Alan deCarteran, she thought, imagining the phrase in the query box of a search engine website. She closed her eyes to improve her focus, and surely enough, she found herself staring at a list of links. "That was easy," she muttered, focusing on a random link in particular. The link gave her access to a document she fully expected to be blacked out or mostly so. Instead the document was perfectly clear.

'Agent: deCarteran, Alan

'Known Alias(es): Jackson Dalloway

'Known Abilities: master of disguise and information gathering, known to participate in high-security projects with former Chief Montgomery and was given almost as much access as Montgomery himself, highly trusted with Montgomery

'Classified by Chief deAngelo as very dangerous'

Lexie opened her eyes, automatically shutting off the search engine. The thought that she had somehow accessed C.H.R.O.M.E. documents was never far from the front of her mind. More importantly, what she had read was burned onto her eyelids. deCarteran was a master of disguise and had indeed worked with Montgomery on high-security projects.

Ceres.

Superweapons.

Zundapp, Finn McMissile, Shorts, deCarteran, Montgomery.

Alex's engine transplant. Her adoption. Shorts, Finn, and Zundapp all showing up in Radiator Springs throughout her life, more than once in Finn's case.

It all clicked together in one instant, and she remembered a scene in a complex she was certain came from before she was adopted. She and Finn were making their way through the guards of the complex, who were all preparing to kill them. She remembered driving through the guards, unafraid. They remained perfectly still with their guns drawn until she and Finn had driven through the next door, and then they fired.

The memory ended with the sound of bullets clanging on huge, heavy metal doors as they retreated.

She tensed her axles to still her shaking tires. Her breathing was heavier than it had been several minutes earlier, but she found herself without fear. Her world was in much sharper focus. She had a purpose and a directive.

She drove out of the house.

CARS

Alex bounced anxiously on his tires as he watched from a corner as the commons filled with other cars, talking about their classes, significant others, cute cars of the opposite sex, and other such trivial subject matter. Lexie's call several hours before had served to deprive him of sleep and make him anxious to the point of paranoia.

Lexie had just crossed the threshold to the commons and a second later parked next to him in the corner. "I get it," she said. "I don't want to tell it more than once for fear of being overheard, but here's what I want you to do. Call a meeting of the heads of the Four Families, and get Finn McMissile, Professor Zundapp, and a tuner called Shorts in attendance. Find a secure location for the meeting, and then tell me. I'll tell all of you there."

"What happened? You sounded extremely anxious on the phone earlier this morning."

"I figured it out. I found something that made everything fall into place. I'll explain at the meeting, at least, what's relevant."

"And what about Saybrooke? Are you gonna form a plan there?"

"I already have a plan. I'll tell them what they need to know, but the plan is my own, and it's going to stay that way."

"Whatever revelation you had, it's really given you a boost."

"Thanks."

"Okay, I'll do what you say, largely becauase I trust you. As for your plan, for your sake and mine, I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing."

"I know, alright. I know."

"'Kay, I'll make the call."

CARS

"Alex, what's up?" Jack asked when he answered the phone.

"I've got instructions for you, and when I hang up, I want you to follow them exactly. They come from Lexie McQueen herself, and if you've seen her lately, you'll know why I want you to listen to her the way I am right now."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Here's what she wants: A meeting of the heads of the Four Families, with Finn McMissile, Shorts the tuner, and the Professor in attendance, as well as herself, I'm assuming."

"And you, of course."

"Yeah. She wants us also to find a secure place for the meeting, but I guess that's a given."

"Okay, kid, I'll pass this on to Tubbs, and he'll give the final orders as to what's to be done."

"Got it."

Alex hung up, and Jack knocked on the door to Tubbs' office. "Yeah?" Tubbs asked.

"It's Jack, with a message from Alex."

"It's open." Jack drove into the office and right up to the desk. He whispered his message to Tubbs, who nodded where appropriate. "And he got all this from Lexie, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Do everything Alex told you to, and be sure to tell me where this secure location is."

"Okay."

Jack drove out of the office, nodding to Tubbs on the way out. Tubbs nodded in response and sank low onto his chassis, closing his eyes. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Lexie idled near Marly and Taylor, watching the Grand Prix in Italy, when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," she said.

Almost before she opened the door all the way, Finn rushed in and closed it behind him. "Where can we talk in private?"

"Out back," she said, leading him down the hall and out the back door.

"I got your message, via Jack Pacer, which implies Alex as a means of transferrence, but that's beside the point. I came as soon as I heard. Are you sure about what you're doing?"

Lexie nodded once. "Positive."

"Do you think it will work?"

"It should. Unless anything goes wildly out of control, it will."

"You're going to keep something from them, and that's very dangerous."

"So's Saybrooke, deCarteran, whoever he is. Listen, Finn. It all makes sense to me now, and I know I can get to him. Saybrooke's the prize, not the heads of the Four Families."

Finn nodded. "Alright, but I think this is incredibly dangerous and could put you or your family in danger. Never, ever underestimate the Lemons." Lexie nodded, but something about what Finn said made her uneasy.

"Look, I don't have a better plan yet, but I know I plan for you, the Professor, and Shorts to be present, if that helps."

"It does."

"Okay. Where are they, do you know?"

"I'm sure on approach, but as to their whereabouts, I couldn't ask so as not to compromise them."

"Right."

Finn lowered his voice. "At least we're on the same page about something. I don't want anything to happen to you, even though you look more than capable, more capable than when I first met you."

"Finn?"

"Yes?"

"You're starting to ramble."

"Thank you. Anyway, brief recap, the Professor and Shorts are on their way, and I trust your word has gotten to the heads of the Four Families or will reach them before very long. We all very much hope you know what you're doing, but I can tell you understand now, and I trust you."

"Thanks, Finn."

"Absolutely. Final question. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Then I wish you the best and I'll see you at the meeting."

CARS

The doorbell rang, and Marly said, "I'll get it." She rushed to the door, and Lexie was at most ten feet behind her. Marly answered the door to a green Pacer, and she said, "Hey. Can we help you with something?" Lexie rolled forward.

"May I come in?" the Pacer asked.

"Yeah, sure." Marly rolled aside so the Pacer could enter.

"Can I talk to Lexie in private for a sec?" Wordlessly, Marly rushed out of the foyer. "There's an office building in the heart of town, at the intersection of Fifth and A. Level fourteen, room sixty-six."

"Got it."

"There'll be guards, but they won't be what you expect. They'll look completely innocuous, but we want everyone there to feel completely safe."

"Okay."

"And to double check, you're a hundred percent positive?"

"Yep."

"What's your object here?"

"I want them to know and understand the gravity of the situation, and either they will back me up when it comes to handling it or they'll flee the country. The rest depends on me and Saybrooke, and maybe the three others that worked on the Ceres project," Lexie said.

"Okay."

"Are you ready?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. Good luck."

"Thanks."

The Pacer nodded and drove out of the foyer. "Okay, it's safe now," he called to no one in particular. Marly and Taylor appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Marly asked.

"Yep," Lexie said. "We just had to talk about something. Everything's squared away."

"Okay."

"Thanks for inviting me into your home," the Pacer said. "I'll let you three enjoy the rest of your day." With that, he drove out of the house and closed the door behind him.

CARS

"Two days," Alex said when Lexie parked next to him in the commons the next day. "I assume you got the address?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Excellent. I made sure the other parties know."

"Okay, we're good to go. All we have to do is wait."

"I'll be your escort and expert."

"Didn't know I needed one."

"Yes, for all intents and purposes. My job's just to get you there and back okay and tell you about how you do things with these cars. Anything else is up to you."

"Okay, good. At least I'm not being constantly protected where I don't need to be."

Alex nodded. "Not long now before this is over."

"Looking forward to our date?"

"Oh, yeah."

Lexie chuckled and looked at the other groups of cars clustered here and there about the commons, discussing any number of things amongst themselves. "Well, I'm gonna take that as a good sign, and when we resolve this Saybrooke matter, we'll celebrate."

"Best idea I've ever heard."

"If it works out, of course, and we don't die."

"That's a given."

Lexie again looked at the cars gathered in the commons. Several Pacers were scattered among the croud, watching them warily but none daring to approach them. Her eyes drifted up to the clock, and she said, "We probably should go to class. We don't want to be late."

Alex nodded, and they parted ways for the time being.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Alex knocked on Taylor Carerra's door at ten-o'-clock exactly on a Friday morning. Taylor's eyes widened upon seeing him, but when he asked for Lexie, she seemed to relax. "She's supposed to be at school, though," she said.

"Not today, I'm not," Lexie replied from behind Taylor. "It's one of those things."

"Oh, right, of course. Well, you two have fun, and don't do anything stupid."

"We won't." Lexie nodded to Taylor and drove out of the house. After a block or so, she said, "That's my aunt, the one Saybrooke's been seeing."

"So that's what she looks like. I did wonder a little bit."

"Yeah, that's her. Considering that she's dating an underboss of one of the Four Families and you guys have made L.A. home, it's no wonder she's terrified of random cars knocking on her door."

"I can figure."

"Would you rather be feared or loved?" Lexie asked

"Me, I'd rather be neither. I don't want to be involved with that, or if I have to, as little as possible," Alex replied. Lexie nodded. Alex turned a corner, and she followed. "Small town car in a big city, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I guess all we have to do is graduate high school and then we can have normal lives."

"Is it really that easy?"

"Is it really harder for you?" she asked.

"Maybe," he said earnestly. Lexie nodded. Something to deal with later. "So, may I ask what your plan is?"

"It's really simple. I'm gonna bait him. At least, that's the theory."

"And what if something really bad happens?"

"Like Saybrooke showing up at the meeting? If that's the case exactly, I'll out him to his boss and everyone else present."

"Think that'll work?"

"It'll get him flustered enough to admit the truth by trying to avoid it, that's for sure, and that's kind of the effect I'm going for."

"Oh. And if he doesn't show?"

"I'll out him, anyway. The rest happens as it happens in your world."

"And what about you?"

"Let's just say if you move, he'll know I started it."

Alex nodded in understanding. Lexie figured that he must've heard similar vague wording through his career as messenger and had learned to understand two words when he heard one. The pair drove on in relatively comfortable silence, and when Alex assumed the lead, Lexie didn't question it. After all, they were now in an area she didn't recognize.

Alex exchanged a few words with a couple of black lemons and led her through the door of an office building, to the back of the lobby, and into an elevator. "Okay, tell them the truth. That's the most important unwritten rule here," Alex said.

"Right," Lexie replied.

"Whatever you say, you have to be open, and you have to at least look like you're telling them everything, even when you're not. They value apparent honesty."

"Got it."

"And don't show fear."

"Why not?"

"Some say they can smell it, Hugo especially. Don't tell him I called him that. He prefers Don Victor."

"Wow, there's a lot to this."

"Yeah, there is."

"I've got one more question before we do this."

"Yeah?"

"How's my paint?"

Alex chuckled. "It looks good. You don't have anything to worry about."

The elevator reached the fourteenth floor, and they drove until they found room sixty-six. Alex again exchanged words with the black lemons guarding the door and led Lexie inside the meeting room. Only Tubbs Pacer and a couple fellowmodels were in the room. "You're early," he said.

"Is this good?" Lexie asked.

Tubbs smiled and drove around the table. "You're just fine."

"Thanks."

"Nice ta see ya again. Alex still won't shut up about you. Heard you're gonna go out."

Lexie felt herself turning redder by the moment. She turned toward Alex, who smiled softly to her, chuckled softly, and shook his hood in the affirmative. She relaxed a little and turned toward the door. After a moment, she turned to the window and drove over to it on impulse. Fourteen stories below, in the parking lot, a large, dark brown bus pulled up, and several black cars surrounded it at once. "What's going on down there?" The Pacers surrounded her at the window, Alex and Tubbs immediately flanking her. A familiar light brown Hugo began fighting with the guards, almost without provocation.

"Why the underboss doesn't want Don Victor as heavily protected as he usually is is beyond me," Alex said.

"Should we get down there?"

"No. Too dangerous."

"You think I'm gonna get shot?"

"I think you're gonna draw too much attention to yourself."

Lexie opened her mouth slightly only to close it again, worry her bumper, and watch the series of events unfold. A blue truck had at that point towed Victor out of the bus, and a group of black Hugos surrounded him. For a moment, she thought she recognized one of them, but so much had happened that she couldn't be entirely sure.

Then she did remember. The World Grand Prix party in Tokyo. He was one of the Hugos with Victor, though she didn't know his name. He'd spoken to her. She dared to wonder if he would recognize her.

The black Hugo forced the light brown Hugo back and even pulled a gun. With a warning shot, he got the other car to back down. The group of Hugos proceeded into the office building, with the light brown car trailing behind, flanked by two Pacer guards. "Okay, how do things go?" Lexie asked, turning toward Alex.

"Wait for the others," he replied. "For one, you don't have to repeat yourself, and for another, you don't want fifty percent of the Four Families feeling jilted."

"Makes sense."

Tubbs gave her a playful shove on the fender and said, "See? She's learning." She considered cracking a smile, but considering the state of things and her mix of emotions, it would most likely look like a grimace or other sick expression. That wasn't exactly the impression she wanted to make with these lemons.

She pulled away from the window and turned toward the door. Alex settled in next to her and the rest of the Pacers some distance to the right. She chewed on her bumper and revved her engine softly. "Your granduncle seems friendly," she said in as light a tone as she could manage.

"Yeah. He's a good car," Alex replied. He lowered his voice and added, "If you're scared of him, he has to be scared of me."

She swallowed and looked from Alex to Tubbs and back again. Something about his tone felt off, like there was a death threat under his words. There most likely was, considering everything she knew about him and his world.

But she had bigger things to worry about than Alex's threats. If the light brown Hugo's actions were anything to go by, and assuming her hunch was correct, Victor Hugo wasn't exactly sitting pretty.

Speak of the devil, she thought as the tow truck pulled Victor Hugo into the meeting room, followed by a troop of Hugo guards, Saybrooke, and the two Pacer guards assigned to him. "That just leaves two, correct?" Victor said, raising an eyelid at Lexie.

"I believe so," she replied. Out of the corner of my eye, she caught Alex flashing her an approving smile. Lexie took that as a sign that she was doing something right. For the moment. Victor cast a wary glance toward Saybrooke, and one of the Hugos joined the Pacer guards. Even though all three black lemons were completely expressionless, Saybrooke fidgeted at the joining of the Hugo. Lexie wondered if he suspected that he'd been caught.

Tubbs had driven over to Victor and they struck up a conversation about matters of business, and one of the Pacer guards that had surrounded Tubbs drifted over to Lexie and Alex. The Pacer nodded, and Lexie nodded in response.

Within the next ten minutes, Curby, Vladimir, and both of their entourages had entered the meeting room. Victor gestured for Lexie to say what she needed to say, and she took a deep breath, wet her upper lip, and said, "The name Steven Saybrooke was pulled straight out of a soap opera. I have a hunch as to who he really is, but one of two things must happen for that to be proven true. Either he must voluntarily let down his disguise, or we make him do so."

Saybrooke fidgeted, and it was plain to see that he was doing everything to keep his mouth shut. "What do you recommend?" Victor asked.

"That depends on what he does within the next several minutes."

Saybrooke shot forward, and two of the lemons guarding him immediately sandwiched him between them. The lemon heads watched on, and Lexie drove in front of him. "It's your choice, really. You've been with them long enough, if I'm right, to know which course of action you should take. Granted, I've got a hunch they're both dangerous. That why you haven't picked yet?"

Saybrooke's eyes widened, and he would've rolled back if the lemons hadn't held him so firmly in place. Lexie turned to Alex, who rolled forward, and then she turned back toward Saybrooke. "It's simple, Saybrooke. You've got two options. Either you drop the act by yourself, or we force you. There's no third option, especially when you're dealing with us."

Saybrooke shot back and then forward again, slamming into Lexie's front bumper and pushing her through the meeting table and into the far wall. Alex pulled and cocked his gun, and Saybrooke, instead of taking aim at the Pacer, pulled his gun on Victor Hugo.

One of the Hugos shot forward and cocked his own gun. When a deadly shootout seemed inevitable, Lexie shot out Saybrooke's back tire. He turned and fired at her, and she slipped along the wall to the door. Saybrooke smirked and turned toward Victor and the valiant guard who prepared to die for his boss. Alex met Lexie's gaze and then looked at Saybrooke.

Lexie wondered, almost at random, where Finn, Shorts, and the Professor were. She pushed the thought from her mind and watched the standoff before her. Then a third option popped into her mind, and she remembered Alex mentioning it on the way to the office building and wondered why she didn't think of it or say it before.

She only hoped it wouldn't exacerbate the current situation.

"Hey, deCarteran," she said. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Saybrooke turned toward her, his eyes wide and his bumper slack. The gun was still trained on Victor Hugo. Okay, Lexie thought. You can get yourself out of this one. "You're looking for me. I know you are. It's what your boss would've wanted you to do, the one you're really loyal to. There's no reason to turn on Victor. He has as much to do with this as the other lemon heads. This isn't their fight. It's ours."

Saybrooke pointed the gun at Lexie and fired a shot directly at her engine. She felt the bullet bounce off of her hood, and she noticed a chrome patch where the bullet must've hit her. The spot shrunk until it disappeared, leaving her original paint job behind, pristine.

"So it's true," he said, rolling closer to her and smirking. "I thought they were lying to me for some time."

"Oh, us?" Finn asked from behind her. "Why would we lie to our own team member?" Saybrooke looked over Lexie's fender, and she stole a glance in her rearview mirror at Finn, Shorts, and the Professor. "I apologize for the fact that we're late, but I'm sure many of you understand the way of traffic in this town." Lexie rolled away to the side, and the three drove into the room. Something about the way this was playing out began to feel horribly off to her, however.

"He knew," she said. "He knew you were coming."

"What would he need that little tidbit for?" Shorts asked.

"Ford knows."

Saybrooke narrowed his eyes and cocked his gun. Then, instead of dropping his disguise, he shifted into a new one-one of Lexie herself. He turned toward Alex and took aim directly at his engine. Lexie shot forward and slammed into his side, sending him back into the far wall with an oil-curdling crash. Saybrooke's disguise mechanism faltered, and as he struggled toward freedom, Lexie pressed harder. When it seemed he was about to pull away, she slammed into him again.

His disguise stripped away altogether, and all but four were surprised at what the hologram revealed.

Lexie pulled away, and a battered black Aston Martin rolled away from the wall. One of his eyes was more open than the other, and the way he drove indicated severe pain. He studied the crowd composed mostly of lemons, and then he turned to Lexie. "Did it have to be so painful?" he asked in a British accent.

"deCarteran, I presume?" she replied. He nodded. "I did give you a choice."

"You don't understand their world. They want something from me."

"So why did you go?"

"I wanted something from them. That's how it works."

The tow truck and a couple Hugos drew guns and aimed at deCarteran. "And if you don't comply with the agreement, they'll kill you?" deCarteran nodded. Lexie looked over her fender at a confused Victor Hugo and his wayward henchmen. "I suggest you get out of here, then." But the second deCarteran moved, the two Hugos moved to sandwich him. Lexie pushed him toward the door, and the Hugos opened fire. "Get him out of here," she yelled to the three cars still in the doorway.

Lexie warily circled around the Hugos, and Victor rolled over to her and whispered, "I have a plan." Lexie nearly jumped, but almost instantaneously an idea occurred to her.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"I assume so."

Her eyes roamed to one of the two Hugos who hadn't suddenly turned the tables. Victor nodded. When the Hugo looked away to study the scene, Victor gestured to the other one, who rushed over. They exchanged words, and the next thing Lexie knew, these two cars were acting like they were taking her hostage and began pulling her toward the door. More out of surprise than fear, she screamed, attracting everyone else's attention.

The tow truck and his cohorts fired on Victor and his Hugo accomplice, and the one remaining Hugo was first to react. His first shot struck one of the Hugos' fenders, and he shot back in pain and surprise. His second shot was dead on in the engine, and the car sank onto his chassis, his eyes closed.

The tow truck backed away, fear written all over his face, and the other Hugo tried to disappear, but the two cars holding Lexie would have none of it. They managed to keep him in the room while keeping a hold of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the lemons had gathered around their respective bosses in something of a protective shield.

"Please, don't shoot," the tow truck said.

"All this time," the Hugo said coldly. "I trusted you all this time, even before he arrived, and all you wanted to do was kill the Dodgefather and get your hands on a superweapon of your own. All you needed was an opportunity, and Montgomery's car gave it to you. What did he promise?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, Ivan. What did he promise? Power? Money? Don Victor's place?"

Lexie could feel Victor fuming silently at her side, but when she looked, his face was completely expressionless. Ivan merely looked around and fidgeted, but he didn't answer until the Hugo fired a shot that grazed his mirror. "Money," he said. "He swore I'd be set for life." Without another word, the Hugo fired another shot, one that dug itself deep into Ivan's hood but didn't kill him. The other Hugo fainted on the spot, presumably from the shock of it all. Ivan collapsed shortly after, from what Lexie guessed was a combination of fuel loss and terror, mostly terror since it was so soon after the shot.

The Hugo who fired on the wayward lemons rushed over to Victor and slid his gun back into its place. "Boss, Boss, you okay?" he asked.

Victor nodded, but it wasn't lost on Lexie that he leaned into the Hugo for support. Was there a problem with his axles? she wondered.

"Somebody tell me what just happened," Curby said, pulling out of his car-made shell.

"I'd be happy to," Lexie said. "deCarteran somehow found out, possibly through Montgomery or his networks, that I know Alex, and he also learned that Alex is your messenger, which means that through him, I can be linked to all of you. He infiltrated Don Victor's family and found a way to rise through the ranks. I can't exactly say how long he's been there, but long enough, if he got a few Hugos to side with him. If Ivan's statement is anything to go by, he would've used money, more money than Don Victor could offer, which, I'm relatively certain, is saying something. Since Montgomery died a few months ago, deCarteran most likely acted on the ex-CHROME chief's orders. All this was an elaborate ploy to get to me, perhaps in an effort to cover all of his bases in the event of anything happening to him."

"What does he want you for?"

"I'm a weapon, his weapon, and I escaped him. He wanted me back. He took a lot of measures to find me, to try to take me, and to distract the others while he worked. Whatever he wanted me for, we may never know, but it must've been important, considering all the trouble he went to over the years."

"This deCarteran infiltrated my family because of you?" Victor asked, narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips.

"That's basically it, but he's acting on the orders of his late boss." Victor nodded. "If I may, why did you do what you did?" Victor merely gestured to the door, and asked her to come with him. She looked over her fender at Alex, who nodded encouragingly. Lexie drove out into the hall after Victor.

Victor turned to her, and the earnest look in his eyes made her relax a little. "I see you are nervous," he said. She nodded. He smiled softly and closed his eyes. "My reasons for my actions are my own, as I'm certain you understand." Lexie nodded again. "Let me start by saying that I admire your bravery. No one else I've met would directly out an underboss for being a spy, especially in front myself and my peers." Lexie nodded. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my health is poor, and I suspect I may have moved too much recently. I fear I may die sooner than expected."

"Are you afraid of dying?"

"No." Again, his eyes were earnest. Lexie found herself believing that every word he said was the truth. "I cannot tell you what my exact motives were, but I learned everything I needed to from the experience, and I thank you for that."

"You're welcome."

He smiled. "I suspect that you will appreciate it if we leave you in relative peace."

"Thank you." Victor drove back into the meeting room, and Alex was in the hall almost immediately. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough. Don't tell him that," he replied.

"So what does it all mean?"

"Basically, he used the opportunity to choose his new successor, since his underboss and several bodyguards betrayed him. What he said about you outing Saybrooke as deCarteran is true, though. Usually the only ones that know are the ones that have something to gain through the spies. Enemy families, drug lords, the like. No one else is the wiser, and whoever does end up finding out is too terrified to talk. They don't want to be implicated in the set-up, you know?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"And he did only tell you a fraction of what's going on behind the scenes in his own little world."

"Figured as much. I wouldn't, if I were him."

Alex nodded and smiled. "So, since this is all officially over, how 'bout that date?"

Lexie smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "What're we idling here for?" He laughed, and then he returned to the meeting room for a moment.

When he slipped out, he said, "They're letting us go." With that, they drove down the hall side by side.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Axle answered the knock on his door to Finn, Shorts, Zundapp, and a worse-for-wear deCarteran. "Let me guess," he said. "He needs fixin' up."

"And a place to stay until we can relocate him under proper witness protection procedure," Finn added.

After another look, Axle asked, "One of Montgomery's?"

"Formerly, but I think he bit off more than he could chew." deCarteran nodded as a silent way to confirm the theory. Axle nodded in understanding and moved to the side to allow the four to enter. He directed Finn and Shorts to the proper placement of deCarteran in his garage, and then he watched as Zundapp, Shorts, and Finn drove out the front door.

They exchanged the usual pleasantries, and Axle closed the door behind them. It was a little after noon, but he could tell, based on the extent of the car's injuries, that he would be up all night.

CARS

Lexie and Alex drove out of the movie theater talking excitedly about the most recent showing and laughing at the parts they found utterly hilarious and worth talking about and laughing over again and again. They came to a slow, almost reluctant stop in the parking lot. "Wow," Lexie whispered when she recovered herself from a laughing fit. "I had a good time."

"I...I'm glad you think so," he said, looking away like a nervous wreck. He rolled back slightly, and she smiled. He looked back at her and blushed.

"Don't just idle there," Finn said from beside them and about ten feet away. "Kiss her."

Lexie and Alex blinked and then looked at Finn, who gave them both an expectant look. Lexie turned back to Alex, and soon, he responded in kind. Then, on impulse, she rolled forward and kissed him on the lips. He jumped and then relaxed, his eyes fluttering closed. The kiss deepened, and Lexie let out a surprised moan.

She hesitated for a moment before pulling away. She cleared her throat and backed up a little to stare at the asphalt without risking staring at anything on Alex's front bumper. "Oh, uh, well..." Alex said, looking around at everything he could except Lexie.

Finn chuckled and said, "Well, I've had my say, so I'll leave you two alone. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"You, too," Lexie replied. They nodded to each other, and Finn drove out of the parking lot. Lexie and Alex looked at each other, and both of them were red in the face. "One more time? You're a good kisser, you know." Alex smiled and kissed her again.


End file.
